A computer hard disk containing several “key” Cabinet notes was stolen along with a computer monitor earlier this week from the North Block offices of the ministry of home affairs. The security agencies have been left red-faced by the fact that a computer monitor was taken out undetected from the heavily guarded complex.
Top police sources said the theft of the monitor was reported to the Parliament Street police station January 3 by Inder Mahato, an assistant at the MHA’s North Block offices. Mr Mahato told the police he found that a computer monitor had been stolen when he came to his office on January 3. After his complaint, a case of theft was registered.
The theft of the hard disk, reportedly containing classified communication of various ministries with the MHA, was noticed by officials recently when it was found that a computer in Room 203 (Hindi translation department) wasn’t working.
“When a technician was summoned to check, he discovered there was no hard disk in the CPU. The news worried the political establishment because the hard disk reportedly contained “key” Cabinet not-es which are of a classified nature,” a source said.
This newspaper made repeated attempts to contact several senior police officers of New Delhi district, but to no avail. Police sources, however, said the stolen documents were related to internal communication between the defence and home ministries on key policy issues. Sources also confirmed that the documents were classified. “These notes, exchanged between various ministries, were sent to the Hindi department for translation from where they have been stolen,” a source revealed.
A complaint (about the hard disk) was lodged at the Parliament Street police station on Thursday evening and a case of theft registered. Investigators are now examining the CCTV footage.